A New Year and a Fresh Start

Today is the first Thankful Thursdays of the year and I’m excited about reading all the links that will be shared over the next few days. I normally don’t plan these posts in advance because I’d rather wait and see what God shows me in either my Bible reading, from a sermon I’ve heard or something that I’ve experienced and then write about it on Wednesday. On Sunday while listening to a sermon that was living streaming, the Lord showed me today’s post; a feather could have knocked me over when I heard the message My Stewardship for 2016. Today, I’m thankful for a New Year and Fresh Start.

A New Year and a Fresh Start

We are not promised tomorrow (Proverbs 27:1, James 4:13-17) and because of that, we should live life to the fullest for the Lord. When we walked through the door of 2016, we were blessed. We were given another day, another year to serve the Lord. While there will be some who won’t see the end of this year and maybe not see the end of this week, they were given the opportunity to know 2016. What we will do with our time matters.

A lot of churches spend the month of January teaching on stewardship – tithing. But you know, our money is not the only thing we are a steward of. Time, we are stewards of the time that God has given each of us and how we spend it matters. Was last year spent not doing what the Lord wanted from us? Don’t be discouraged if you said yes because we have a new year and fresh start to work more on spending our time wisely and serving the Lord.

I’m thankful God saw fit to give me a New Year and Fresh Start so I can serve Him. While I may not know what my day holds, there is one thing I do know, God knows every in and out of the days I’m going to face. I have to be willing to allow Him to work through me.

With the Lord’s help, we can be good stewards of 2016.

Join me in praying the Lord will help guide us throughout the new year.

Dear Lord, I pray that you will help me to focus on the things of you. That you will allow me the time I have to be about your business. Father, while I don’t know what my future holds, I do know that you are already there and know everything about it. Lord, I pray that you will find me faithful and peaceful when I face those moments you have planned for my life. In Jesus' precious name, Amen.

Help Your Children Become Independent Learners

Our school starts back today after a three-week break. We have never taken three weeks off at Christmas before and now I can’t help but wonder why. We have had a restful break and I’m looking forward to the downhill side of our school year. Today I want to share about developing independent learners in your children.

Last year I shared five benefits of self-learning. Raising self-learners is very important, especially when our children head off to college or into the workforce. Young adults are going to be expected to know how to do things on their own without a lot of supervision. Not too long ago I read on a job application about being self-motivated; this company expected their employees to be able to think and work on their own.

As I mentioned in the link above, it took several years for my son to get to the point where he could be given his assignments to be completed without me standing over him. Don’t expect to start these things on a Monday and have a self-learner at the end of the week. IT. WILL. TAKE. TIME.

5 Tips to Help Your Children Become Independent Learners

1. Start slowly – Practice problems in Math and Grammar was where I started with my son. After explaining things to him, he was allowed to work on his own. When we started Teaching Textbooks, he became totally independent in Math. Start with one subject and then add another until your child is ready to be more independent.

2. Hands off – When Jamie was starting to work more on his own, I was able to wash dishes, clean the bathroom, and even do a little laundry. When one of my tasks was completed I would simply ask if he had any questions. If he did not, I quickly left so he could continue working on his own. ** Be available when they really need help.

3. Help them plan and organize – Give your child a planner of their own. Whether it is something you create or purchase,  teach them how to use it. When we started out, I used a weekly assignment sheet and folders for each subject. When my son was completed, he would check the box and place completed worksheets in the opposite pocket in the folder. Now my son just uses a spiral notebook and plans his week according to my planner sheets.

4. Help them manage their time – One major thing young people need to learn is how to manage their time. This is not something they can be dropped into; it has to be taught over time. Allowing them to learn there will be consequences to not meeting a deadline is okay. ( A lower grade or missing out on something fun are good motivators to help with time management.) Their college professors and employers will not stand over them and they will suffer.

5. Encourage curiosity - children have a natural curiosity about them. If they are interested in a certain subject, encourage them to study more about it. Depending on their age and maturity level, allow them to use the internet to research the subject. You can even plan a special trip to the library for research. Just remember while encouraging your child’s curiosity to emphasize time management.

Raising our children to be independent and productive adults is an important part of our job as mom.

Would you add anything else to helping your children become independent learners?

Faithful - My Word for 2016

For several years now, I have chosen one word to focus on throughout the year. I find those words to really help in my daily life. My word for 2016 was one that I hadn’t even considered when I began thinking about it.  Anytime I thought about choosing a word, I prayed about it, but I never really focused on asking the Lord to show me a word for 2016.  At the beginning of December, I felt maybe the Lord didn’t want me to have a word for the year or maybe not share it because I never had peace about any words that came to mind.

It wasn’t until I asked the Lord what He would want me to work more on in the new year when He showed me the word FAITHFUL.

Faithful - My Word for 2016

When the Lord showed me the word FAITHFUL, I was quickly reminded how He has always been FAITHFUL to me and my family.  I was also reminded how I still battle at keeping my faith in the Lord where it should be. It’s so easy to waver when times get rough!

Being FAITHFUL to the Lord and to my family and home (I’m bad at spending more time doing other things while caring for them doesn’t get my full attention) is what I’m going to be working on this year.

Faithfulness is something that I’ll have to work on the rest of my life; it won’t be just a one year thing. It will have to become a way of life. I don’t want to be found doing things haphazardly, I want to be found faithful in my daily life for the Lord and for my family.

Watch ye, stand fast in the faith...be strong. I Corinthians 16:13

Do you choose a word to cultivate in your life every year?

Goals Revisited for 2015

When I shared my Goals for 2015 in January, I was excited because they were REAL goals for REAL things I wanted to do. They were goals I knew I could work on without feeling like a failure if they didn’t come together quickly. In March, I shared an update on those goals and I shared a little in July, but then I didn’t write about them anymore. Since this is the 30th of December, I figured it was time to share what has happened with my Goals for 2015.

Goals Revisited

Continental Knitting – This year, I have said to myself several times, “I wish the lady in Hobby Lobby would have been a continental knitter.” I can’t help but think back to that day in 2005 when I decided I wanted to learn to knit. The lady showed me how she held the yarn and, of course, she was an English knitter. Everything I’ve knitted this year, I have been determined to work the yarn in Continental. I’ve been doing well with it, but I’ve come to decide when binding off if I need to switch over to my right hand IT WILL BE OKAY. The world is not going to end if I need to use my right hand to work the yarn.

Bread Making – Well, I’m determined one day I will make a perfect loaf of sandwich bread, but at the moment, that day has not arrived. I’ve tried several recipes since the summer with no luck. I’ve made a couple of changes in the process of making the dough which has helped: weighing the ingredients, setting the timer and not guessing at the kneading time. I have two more recipes I want to try within the next week, no matter what at least we have had some tasty toast these past few months.

Quilting – 1152 squares! That is what I’ve been sewing together since I’ve started this endeavor. Those little 2 and half inch squares are making 72 8 inch blocks. At the moment, I have 9 more blocks to piece together and I will be finished with them. I’m hoping I will have them finished before the end of the year. :) My sister and I were on the phone last week calculating the yardage for sashing and backing. I have a feeling I will end up going a cheaper route for the backing since I will need about 9 yards if I can’t find quilt backing that I like and I refuse to allow this quilt to cost me more than $200.

As you can see, I’ve been working on my goals and while they are not “completed” they are still being achieved and I’m happy with that.

Top 5 Posts in 2015

I hope your family had a beautiful Christmas. We did, it was quiet and enjoyable. It’s a little hard to believe that we are in the final days of 2015. This has been a good year for us, and I am excited to see what 2016 has in store for our family.

When I peeked at my Google Analytics to see what my Top 5 Posts for 2015 were, I was quite surprised to see some links so popular this year. When I wrote them I did it from the heart and didn’t expect to see or hear anything from them. While I may not have heard anything from some of those posts, they made it into the lives of many people for some reason and I am thankful for that.

Top 5 Posts for 2015

1. 31 Days of Homemaking – My first ever daily writing challenge. When I started the series, I had several things in mind, but ended up going in a different direction to my surprise.

2. Staying Thankful during the Christmas – The Christmas season is hard for so many people, me included. Over the years, I’ve learned it is not how much you spend on gift giving, but rather spending time focusing on the REAL reason we celebrate Christmas.

3. Five Reasons to Study and Memorize God’s Word – I wrote this to myself because I still have days where I get busy and neglect to have my time with the Lord. I want to reap the benefits of spending time reading and memorizing God’s word.

4. 10th Grade Curriculum Choices – choosing a curriculum can be hard. I love reading others’ choices and recommendations and evidently there are many more who are like me looking for options to consider when educating their children.

5. Unanswered Prayers – For many when God doesn’t answer a prayer it is considered an “unanswered” prayer. But in reality, it is possible the prayer was answered with a simple no.

Did you miss any of these this year? I hope you’ll click through and read them if you did.

Merry Christmas 2015

Merry Christmas! This week I've been busily preparing our home for tomorrow. Cleaning, dusting, vacuuming, and present wrapping - you name it I have done it. Today is all about the baking. My mixer has been put to the test already this morning with its constant humming of mixing peanut butter and sugar.

While we no longer spend a small goldmine on Christmas presents (never did in the first place), I can't wait for tomorrow to see the eyes and excitement of the items that were either purchased or handmade.

I pray each of you have a glorious Christmas day!

A God Who Goes Before Me {Thankful Thursdays}

When we allow God to work in our lives, he does amazing things for us. I’ll be the first to admit, it’s difficult to turn the reins over to God and allow him to work in my stead. There are times in life when it seems it would be just easier for me to deal with a situation instead of waiting for what God has planned. All too often, I find myself in a deeper mess because I didn't wait and allow God to go before me and straighten those crooked places.

God Who Goes Before Me (and You)

Throughout the Old Testament, God promised to work things out for those who loved and served him. He promised Moses, he would work through him and Aaron when they met with Pharaoh. He provided the needs of the Israelites when they made their journey from Egypt. Joshua was told by God, he would not be left alone. Even while hiding for his life, David had God going before him and working out the situations. King Cyrus was even told that God would go before him and make the crooked place straight.(Isaiah 45:2)

When we rely on our own ability, things can go terribly wrong. However when we trust in the Lord and lean on him, he will direct our paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6) He will go before us and make the crooked places straight.

The LORD your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf.  Deuteronomy 1:30a

And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed. Deuteronomy 31:8

For the LORD will go before you, And the God of Israel will be your rear guard. Isaiah 52:12b

I’m thankful for a God who goes before me.

Having A Relationship With God

We all want to have a good relationship with our family and others, but before we can have that, we need a good relationship with God. He’s the One who can help us in nurturing our relationships with others. In October, I shared how the homemaker is the Heart of the Home; the atmosphere in our home is based on our actions. If we are not close to God and have a good relationship with Him, then our actions are not going to be what they should be towards our family. If you are not a wife and mother, keep reading because this is not written to just homemakers.

Having a Relationship With God

I’ve shared about having quality time with the Lord and why it’s important to study God’s word, but I can’t help but question when did we limit the freedom the Lord has in our lives to a mere 10 minute devotion time? Unfortunately, we’ve allowed ourselves to get swept up into the busyness of life and the one thing that delays us getting to wherever we are to be is the one thing that we need the most.

We all know the stories of how the crowds would follow Jesus. They wanted to see him, hear him, speak to him, and have him heal their loved ones. They wanted to spend time with Jesus at all costs.

As Christians, we no longer live for ourselves because when Christ came and died for us, He died for everything opposing His nature. God replaced our sin nature with that of His own Son. We are His, and we are to live life for Him. II Corinthian 5:13-17

I can’t tell you how to have a close relationship with Christ because everyone is different, but I can tell you once you determine to have a close relationship with Him you will be amazed at what you learn. You will see things like you’ve never seen before. Christ is waiting to have a relationship with you; He saw just how valuable you are and paid the price for you.

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.